The word Romanichal, or Romanichel in the French-speaking areas, has the “experts” in a quandary again and again. They claim the word “chal” to be from this or that, even as far as suggesting it has something to do with the ancient Chaldea, but they just come nowhere near the truth.

Especially as the truth is so much simpler. All one has to understand is how languages are perceived by those that do not know the way of their pronunciation.

The truth, as I said, to the origin of the word Romani Chal, now written Romanichal, is so much simpler than the experts try to think and make out.

It all originates from a misunderstanding and then a misspelling of what the People originally said.

They did not call themselves Romani Chal, Romanichal – nay – but Romane Chave or Romano Chav for a single male.

As the word “Chav” for “chavo” – boy – is pronounced by the Sinti groups as “chau”, written in the German writing of the Sinti Chib often as “Tschau”, but sounding like “chow”. Thus a misunderstanding occurred and outsiders began calling them Romani Chal, thus “chal” was born, for the untrained ear of the outsiders did now here an “au” ending but a “l” ending.

And yes, it is as simple as that.

Romane Chave was once the collective name for most of the Eastern Sinti, such as nowadays are called Bergtike, Veshtike, Feldtike, and, Fortike, and all which are Sinti, though referred to as Rom Polska – as opposed to Polska Roma.

The Gypsyologists all, whether Gypsy or Gadje, just claim, when suggestions of origin, though like Chaldea rather outlandish, that the word “chal” has an Indian origin. This shows how little they actually know and how little understanding of the language they actually have.

While I no longer speak much of the Chib and many of them are quite fluent in a bookish version of Kalderash Romanes, which would not be my dialect anyway and one that I would never even consider learning, as I am of the Sinti and not of the Kalderash Roma, they have no true understanding, it would appear, of the sounds of the language, especially amongst some groups.

Thus, the origin of the word is that simple as I have outlined and is but a misunderstanding and thus a misspelling of the word “Chavo” or “Chav”.

Is Denmark, a country once thought of, alongside of the Netherlands, as a bastion of liberty and liberalism in Europe, following Italy now in anti-Gypsy measures? It would appear so if recent reports are anything to go by.

Danish media reported on July 6, 2010 that 23 ethnic Roma who are citizens of other EU member states were arrested following anti-Roma statements by Mayor Jensen, who called on the Danish government to adopt measures to rid Copenhagen of criminal Roma, blaming them for thefts and asking the police to expel them.

The Mayor’s statements caused Minister of Justice Barfoed to react, condemning the Roma in question to be illegal residents and pledging strong police action against them. Despite the apparent absence of an investigation or conviction for the alleged thefts, Danish authorities are reported to have expelled the detained EU Roma.

It would appear that all over Europe members of the Romani People, aka Gypsies, are, once again, being used as scapegoats for all manner of things.

While I will be the first to admit that there are bad apples in the Gypsy basket there are criminal elements also other, non-Gypsy groups, and none of their ethnicity is being broadcast when some engage in criminal activities.

When a couple of Turks or Albanians commit crimes somewhere does a country round up all of those of that community with view of expelling them? No, they do not. Why then when it comes to members of the Romani People?

Once again the Gypsy People are the scapegoats for all things evil in Europe and Europe is turning into an Anti-Gypsy society as it was in the 19th century and the Nazi era.

Not that I had ever expected anything else from the European Union, at least as far as the treatment of the Romani People is concerned, and have stated so more than once. The worst Anti-Gypsy countries are in charge; Germany, Italy, France and Denmark for starters, and the “new” countries in the East are even worse in their anti-Gypsyism.